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PATENTED JAN. 19, 1904.

M. SPINRAD & H. BUECHTING. ELECTRIGALLY OPERATED RAILWAY GATE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1903.

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No. 750,068. PATENTED JAN. 19, 1904.

M. SPINRAD & H. BUEOHTING.

ELECTRIOALLY OPERATED RAILWAY GATE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1903.

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No. 750,068. PATENTED JAN. 19, 1904. M. SPINRAD & H. BUEOHTING.

ELEOTRIGALLY OPERATED RAILWAY GATE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16. 1903.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N0 MODEL.

WITNESSES 5 cu, moruur No. 750,068. PATENTED JAN. 19, 1904. M. SPINRAD &H. BUBGHTING. ELEOTRICALLY OPERATED RAILWAY GATE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1903.

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PATENT OFFICE.

MAX SPINRAD AND HANS BUECHTING, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

ELECTRlCALLY-OPERATED RAILWAY-GATE- SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 750,068, dated January 19, 1904.

Application filed June 16, 1903. Serial No. 161,728. (No model.)

T0 all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that we, MAX SPINRAD and HANS BUEGI-ITING, citizens of theUnited States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements inElectrically- Operated Railway-Gates, of which the following is aspecification, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to improvements in electrically operated andcontrolled gates or barriers for railway or similar crossings, and hasreference to that class of devices which are automatic in operation.

The object of our invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed which will normally hold the gate or barrier in its raised oropen position until the approach of a train, when it will by the actionof suitable contact or circuit-closing blocks located at predetermineddistances from the gate and engaging with the wheels of the locomotiveor car descend and guard or block the crossing until the train haspassed and which will be raised again when the train has passed by theaction of a second contact or circuit-closing block located atpredetermined distances from the barrier.

We accomplish our object by the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which similar letters refer to similar parts,and in which Figure l is a side elevation of a gate, showing one of theuprights or supports partly in section and showing a plan of the trackwith the circuit-closing blocks located therein. In this View we alsoshow diagrammatically the electrical wiring and connections. a Fig. 2 isan elevation of the end supports, showing the gates in section, takenthrough the line 2 2 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction indicated by thearrow, and shows the casing of one of the supports partly in section.Fig. 3 is a plan View of the track, the upper portion, of the uprightsbeing shown in section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Figs. 4:, 5, and6 are views of the electrical switches and contacts, which will behereinafter fully explained. Fig. 7 is a View in elevation showingmechanism for throwing the switches and contacts out of engagement. Fig.8 is a plan view of same. Fig. 9 is a side elevation, partly in section,of the contact or circuit-closing block and shows the wheel of the carengaging same. Fig. 10 is an exterior elevation of same, showing thecasing partly broken away. Fig. 11 is a cross-section taken on the line11 11 of Fig. 9, and Fig. 12 is a plan View thereof.

Our invention comprises the gate or barrier a, supported by andoperating between the uprights or supports 5 and 5 and is lowered orraised by means of the chain or rope a moving over a pulley a andcarrying a counterbalance or weight a". The supports 1) and b arepreferably constructed of ordinary I- beams, but any other approved formmay be used; but when an I-beam support is used the inner channelformation 7 acts as a way for the moving gate a, which may be providedwith the guide-arms If to give the gate an even movement. The ends ofthe arms 5* may, if so desired, be provided with roller-contacts; but asthese rollers are not essential we have not shown them in the drawings.

The pulleys a in the opposite supports at one end of the gate, as thosein the supports Z) and 5 are connected by means of the shaft (5 andfastened to this shaft is a driving-pulley c, which is connected, bymeans of a belt 0 to the driving-pulley 0 of the motor 0". The saidmotor and connecting belt and pulley are inclosed within a casing.

The motor 0" operates to lower and raise the gate a and is automaticallystarted and stopped by the action of the contact or circuit-closingblocks 6, e c and 0, all of which are of the same construction and oneof which is shown in Figs. 9, 10, 11, and 12, and which are interposedin the circuit supplying electrical current to the motor and areconnected directly with electromagnets operating electric switcheslocated within boxes f and g, which are secured to the supports.

In the drawings to better illustrate our invention we have shown theboxes f and 9 upon different posts; but it will be obvious after furtherdescription that we may secure both boxes to the same support, the onepoint to be observed being that the box f must be placed near the lowerend of the support and the box g near the upper end.

The contact-block or a is acted upon by the wheel of the locomotive orcar, as shown in Fig. 9, and closes the circuit acting directly upon themagnet it, located in the box f. The electric current passing throughthe said magnet h influences the same to attract the armature 71f, theprolonged end if of which engages the projecting end of the electricswitch 71 and acts to throw the same, so that the block attached to theend of the spring 11, enters the recess 71, thereby bringing togetherthe contacts 7? and i and closing the circuit which supplies theelectric current to operate .the motor when lowering the gate. The saidoperation of the motor continues until the circuit formed by thecontacts 4 and is broken by means of the action of the end of the gate(0 upon a button which is mounted in the support and passes through it.The button is similar to that shown at in Fig. 7, and the end of thebutton is wedge-shaped, as at 7' and is adapted to engage a similarformation upon the switch. The gate w in passing the button depresses itand throws the switch to its normal position. Figs. 7 and 8 show thebutton in juxtaposition to the switch in box g; but the sameconstruction is applicable to the switch in box f.

\Vhen the gate or barrier a is in its lowered position and thecontact-block a" or a is acted upon by the locomotive or car wheel, itwill close a circuit which acts directly upon the magnet 71:, which willattract thearmature 7c, whose prolonged. end 163 engages the upper armsof the switches m and a. which are both mounted upon the same shaft inthe box 1.

hen the switch on is moved by the armature 7; and the arm Z1", it causesthe block 712/ upon the spring on to enter the recess '722.,tl1ere bybringing into engagement the contacts m and m, which close an electriccircuit which supplies the motor and operates the same to raise the gateuntil the switch is thrown by means of the aforementioned button 7'.

The electrical current for the magnets is supplied by a battery or othersuitable means, while the power for operating the motor is taken fromany local power-house or dynamo.

The wires connecting the various parts are run in conduits and withinthe casing of the supports; but for the purpose of better illustion wehave shown the terminals or connecting parts for the switches locatedupon the outside of the box; but in practice they will be placed withinsaid boxes.

The functions of the secondary contacts, which we have not yetdescribed, will be best understood when explained in conjunction withthe diagram of wiring shown in Fig. 1 and considered in connection withFigs. 4c, 5, and 6.

Assuming that the gate (a is in its normal or raised position when thecontact a is closed,

an electrical current is established which flows through the wire 0-along the wires 1' and '1 to the battery 1 out through the wires 1" andr to the binding-post 1 upon the box 1. The current then passes from thebinding-post yfi (see Fig. 5) through the flexible connection 1' to thecontact-block 1- from whence it passes through the engagingcontact-block 1' and the flexible connection 1- to the binding-post ;1From the binding-post y it passes along the wire 8 and to thebinding-post 1 through the magnet/L in box f and out to the bindingpost2. From the bindingpost 2 it runs through the wire to the contact 0,completing the circuit and operating the armature, thereby throwing theswitch 4'. This action establishes a second circuit which operates themotor 0 and which flows as follows: Beginning at the binding-post 7c"the current flows along the wire tto the dynamo f or the source ofsupply. From the dynamo it runs through the wire Z to the field of themotor, from whence it passes through the wire t to the binding-post 1/.From the binding-post y/ it passes (see Fig. 5) by means of aflexibleconnection i to the contact of, from whence it passes to thecontact and through the flexible connection 25 to the binding-post 9along the wire 25 to the armature of the motor. From the armature of themotor it passes through the wires 2i and t to the bindingpost 7 From thebinding-post 1 (see Fig. 6) the current flows by means of a flexibleconnection a to the contact a". From the contact a the electric currentpasses to the contact u' iwhich is secured upon the end of the springarma", fastenened within the box r and through the flexible connection "1&to the binding-post y From this landing-post it passes through the wires1/. to the binding-post a through the flexible connection M7 to thecontacts v1 and i, which at this point of operation are in engagement.From Z" it passes through the flexible connection a to the binding-postin", completing the circuit and operating the motor to lower the gateuntil the aforesaid button acted upon by the gate, breaks the circuit.

hen the gate is in its lowered or closed position and the contact-blocka is acted. upon by a passing train, an electric circuit is established,which flows from the contact-block through the wires 4; and r to thebattery 9, from the bat ter y through the wires 'r' an d o to thebindingpost (1). From the said binding-post the cur rent passes throughthe flexible connection 0: to the contacts a and c From 42 it flowsthrough the flexible connection 0 to the binding-post m, from whence itpasses through the wire o to the binding-post 3. through the magnet 71in the box g to the binding-post 4:. From said post it flows through thewires of and o to the block 0 completing the circuit and actuating themagnet, thereby throwing the switches on. and a and closing the circuitITO ' which operates the motor 0 to raise the gate.

The motor-circuit thus established flows (starting at the binding-postthrough the wires w and t to the armature of the motor 0, and from thearmature it travels through the wires 6 and 20 to the binding-post 9.From the binding-post (see Fig. 6) it flows through the flexibleconnection 10 to the contacts w and 20 which the latter contact ismounted upon a spring-arm secured to the switch w and is at this pointof operation in engagement with the first mentioned contact 10. From 105the current runs through the flexible connection 10 to the binding-post3 from which it runs through the wires 20 and T3 to the dynamo g orsource of electric supply. From the dynamo it runs through the wire 5 tothe field of the motor 0", and from the Hold it passes through the wires6' to the bindingpost From this binding post it flows through theflexible connection t to the contacts m and 421*, which at this point ofthe operation are in engagement, and from the contact m it flows throughthe flexible connection 108 to the binding-post 1/, completing theelectric circuit which flows through the motor in a direction oppositeto that in which the electricity flows in the first-described op erationfor lowering the gate. The flow of electricity will continue until thegate is raised. to the desired height and the circuit is broken by meansof the button j, hereinbetore mentioned.

The operations just described are those which would take place when atrain or car passes over the tracks in a direction indicated by thearrow Q3. A train passing upon the tracks in the opposite directionengages the block 0 to close the circuits which operate the motor tolower the gate and the block (2 to close the circuits which operate themotor to raise the gate. The contact-block e is connected by means ofthe wire 19 to the wire e, which leads to the battery, and by means ofthe wire 9 to the wire 8 which leads to the magnet 7L, cutting out thecontact a and closing the circuit when the contact-block a is depressed.

The contact-block e is connected to the wire 9" by means of the wire 12thereby establishing a connection with the battery, and by means of thewire 19" to the wire e, which leads to the magnet k, cutting out thecontact-block e and closing the circuit when the block 0 is depressed.

To counteract the pressure of the spring of the armatures 7L2 and I mayprovide a spring 8 but it is obvious that this spring is not essentialand may be omitted without impairing the operation of the parts.

In Figs. 9 to 12, inclusive, we show a form of contact-block Wired tocorrespond to the wiring of the block a in Fig. 1 and which comprises avertically-movable L-shaped plate (Z, partly inclosed within the casing(1, which is securely attached to the inner side of the rail 0 The plate(Z is normally kept in a raised position by means of the springs a, andhas fastened to it on its under side a yoke (F, constructed of springmetal and adapted to engage the metal terminals (Z and (Z which areinsulated from the track and to which the wires 0' and s are connected.D designates the locomotive or car wheel which engages the contact-blockand depresses same to connect the two terminals (Z and d by means of theyoke ('Z", thereby closing the circuit. The contact-blocks may all be ofsimilar construction and located and connected as shown in Figs. 1, 2,and 8. I

In Fig. 1 we have shown a single-track road in which the wiring andconnections are similar to the wiring and connections em ployed in aroad having two or more tracks, the only difference being in thelocation of the contact-blocks. Instead of having four blocks in the onetrack we would have but two in each track, except where a track may beused for trains moving in both directions, in which case fourcontact-blocks in the track are necessary.

hen the motor-switch i is thrown, closing the circuit at i and 27" tolower the gate, the magnetic circuit for the magnet 70 cannot be closedby its connected contact-block for the reason that the said circuit isbroken by the separation of the contacts a and o thereby preventing theclosing of the circuit, which sends a reversecurrent through the motorand acts to raise the gate, or where the switches at and a are thrown,closing the circuit which sends the reversed current through the motor,the circuit operating the magnet IL cannot be closed by means of itsconnected contact-block, owing to the fact that the said circuit isbroken by the separation of the contacts 9' and 1, thereby preventingthe closing of the circuit which operates the motor to lower the gate.

While the circuit for operating the motor to lower the gate is closedand sending a current through the motor, the circuit for reversing thecurrent is broken by means of the separation of the contacts 171 and ofof the switch at and the contacts w" and 10 of the switch a, and whenthe circuit for sending the said reverse-current through the motor isclosed and operating the motor to raise the gate the first-mentionedcircuit for lowering the gate is broken by means of the separation ofthe contacts 1; and of the switch 2", the contacts m and m" of theswitch m, and the contacts of and a of switch a.

In the drawings, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, we have shown a gate or barrieradapted to move vertically between and supported upon uprights orsupports; but it is obvious that we may apply our invention to a pivotedbarrier arm or gate which may be adapted to swing vertically up or downto close or open the passage across the road, or any other movableobstruction may be employed in conjunction IIO with our mechanism. WVedo not therefore wish to be understood as limiting ourselves to theparticular construction shown. It is also obvious that instead ofplacing the contact-blocks in the ground within the tracks we mayprovide any other suitable circuitclosing device, which may be locatedin any position near the track, either on the ground or above it, and beoperated or brought in contact with any particular part of thelocomotive or car or arm or projection secured upon same.

In the drawings we have shown but one motor and have connected twopulley-wheels a by means of a shaft 0f; but it is obvious that we mayemploy two motors, placing one on each side of the track and dispensingwith the shaft 65 Having fully described our invention, what we claim asnew, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus for operating railwaygates, plates formed ofinsulating material and pivotally connected with the gate-supports,contact-points connected with said plates and with a source of electricsupply, springarms attached to said supports and provided withcontact-points which are adapted to engage with the said points upon thesaid plates and which are also connected with the source of electricsupply, magnets secured to said supports and connected with the sourceof electric supply, armatures connected with the frame of the saidmagnets and having projecting fingers which are adapted to engage withthe said plates, said armatures being operated by the aforesaid magnetsand adapted to throw into and out of contact the various points to breakand close the various circuits, and devices connected with one of therails of the track and adapted to be operated by the wheels of a car formoving the said plates to throw into and out of contact the variouscontactpoints and to reverse the current which operates the motor,substantially as shown and described.

2. In an apparatus for operating railwaygates, plates formed ofinsulating material and pivotally connected with the gate-supports,contact-points connected with said plates and with a source of electricsupply, springarms attached to said supports and provided withcontact-points which are adapted to engage with the said points upon thesaid plates and which are also connected with the source of electricsupply, magnets secured to said supports and connected with the sourceof electric supply, armatures connected with the frame of the saidmagnets and having projecting lingers which are adapted to engage withthe said plates, said armatures being operated by the aforesaid magnetsand adapted to throw into and out of contact the various points to breakand close the various circuits, and devices connected with one of therails of the track and adapted to be operated by the wheels of a car formoving the said plates to throw into and out of contact the variouscontactpoints and to reverse the current which operates the motor, saidsupports being also provided with press-buttons adapted to engage withthe said gate to operate the said plates to break the circuit,substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention we have signedour names, in presence of the subscribing witnesses,this 13th day ofJune, 1908.

MAX SPINRAD. HANS BUECHTING.

\Vitnesses:

F. A. STEWART, O. E. MULREANY.

